Xue Exam

Vanta was jerked awake by excruciating pain. He rushed on his feet, assuming a defensive position, bracing himself for the next hit, but it never came.

His surroundings were the same, but the mysterious figure was gone. He uses his hand to trace where the mysterious figure had cut him; there was no cut, but he still felt tremendous pain.

'What the hell? What the hell was that? Isn't this supposed to be an exam? Why are they trying to get me killed?'

He tried to use his ability but to no avail. A tiny radiant light shines from his pockets, he touched it and was surprised. His student ID card was floating in the aair, and then it transformed into a book. It was written in modern-day runic language.

"Exam Guide:

Name: Vanta Black.

Age: 14.

Main objective: Acquire the xue sense.

Abilities: Locked.

Storage: 6 items.

Health: Undying.

Day 1 out of 365"

"Abilities Locked? Undying? Are these really needed for an exam?. More importantly, why in damnation's name am I going to spend a whole year in this place?" Vanta lashes out furiously.

He didn't know if he was going to spend an entire year in this isolation or if that was the time frame given to him to achieve the Xue Sense. Regardless, Vanta was not pleased.

'I guess I'll take a look at the storage.'

He concentrated on the ruins of the storage; as he did, he saw all six items. A leather armor, leather boots, leather gloves, a twin blade, water, and some food.

'At least I got something to eat.'

The thought of not starving, for now, lightened up his mood a little. He concentrated on the items he wanted. He equipped the armor, boots, and gloves and summoned the twin blades.

"Huh, it fits well. Not bad. Now for the main objective, achieving the Xue Sense. That monster might return, and it's not like defeating it will make me achieve the Xue Sense. I need to secure a base too for safety."

Climbing up the tallest tree he could find, Vanta observed his surroundings. He moved west, where he thought he saw a source of water; at least one of his problems would be solved, or so he thought.

Moving around was not an easy task. He might have been alive, but the pain from his injuries was still there, slowing down his movements. After some hours of walking, he finally arrived at his destination.

There was a small stream of water cutting across the forest. The ground around the stream was uneven, rocky, and slippery; because of this, the trees towering close to the stream were fewer than they should have been.

'The water seems clear, probably safe for drinking too.'

He dips his hands into the water for a drink but freezes; there was something terribly wrong with the water. Sure, the water was cold, colder than it should have been, but there was something else wrong with it. Even after touching the water, there were no ripples.

'Crap'

With crazy speed, a purple tentacle the size of a man's arm shot forward and tightened itself around Vanta's neck, dragging him into the water.

'I can't breathe.'

Vanta's lungs screamed in pain as the octopus's tentacles wrapped around his legs, dragging him down into the depths of the stream. He felt the water pressure building, his ears popping, and his vision blurring.

With a surge of adrenaline, he summoned his swords and began hacking at the tentacles, the blades slicing through the water with a soft whooshing sound.

As he struggled to free himself, Vanta's mind racing with fear and panic, he caught glimpses of the octopus's massive body undulating in the darkness, its beady eyes glowing like lanterns in the dark. The tentacles seemed to be everywhere, wrapping around his arms, his waist, and his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter until he thought his bones would crack.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Vanta managed to sever one of the tentacles, the pain and pressure easing slightly as he kicked free from the octopus's grasp. He swam upwards, his lungs burning, his vision blurring, until he broke the surface, gasping for air.

Its tentacle suddenly dragged him underwater again. Trying desperately to free himself, Vanta tried to cut the tentacle with his sword, but it was slimy and barely did any damage. He quickly dismissed his swords; using his hands to grab the cold, slimy tentacle, he was able to break free, quickly swimming up to the surface for air.

It secreted transparent ink that made it invisible.

"What a troublesome ability," Vanta murmurs under his strained voice as he gasps for air, his heart beating frantically.

If only he had his ability, things would have been much easier for him.

Two tentacles grabbed his legs, drawing deep into the bottom of the stream with incredible speed. He could feel the movement of the water increasing in speed.

Vanta summoned his swords again and started cutting the unyielding tentacles like a madman. The damage was minimal, but with enough of it, he was able to sever one of the tentacles and move to the other.

Soon, he felt himself falling under the weight of gravity and the crushing weight of water as he fell. His lungs screamed in pain. He was shaken but quickly collected himself and swam back to the surface, freed from the octopus's grip.

Turns out he had fallen from a waterfall. With explosive force, he ran as quickly as he could to land and collapses on the floor.

He could feel his head spin and his lungs hurting.

'That was too close for comfort' he muttered.

Meanwhile, his ID card floated and then transformed into a book.

"Not now" he said trying to collect breathe.

After a while, it was still lingering, so he decided to check it out. It read.

"Exam Guide:

Name: Vanta Black.

Age: 14.

Main objective: Acquire the xue sense.

Abilities: Locked.

Storage: 2 items.

Health: Undying.

Day 1 out of 365

Returning: 4 hours 30 minutes 55 seconds

Xue Sense achieved by students: 3/967"

Vanta's eyes widen at what he saw. He was surprised not because of the new ruins he saw but because of what the meant.

' Three people have already achieved the Xue Sense? What kind of monstrosity have they admitted to the school?'

Vanta was still reading the guide book when he felt an eerie presence approaching, without thinking, he ducked into the hereby bushes to observe.

Not long after had he hidden himself did a mysterious appear, it was different from the one he had faced earlier. This one seems to be masked by black menevolent miasma.

'what the hell is this? I'll have to run when I get a chance to.'

It walked up to the stream and took some sips of water then stood.

"You in the shadow" it said pointing directly at Vanta "Didn't you parents teach you not to stare?"

'I can't seem to get a break'.